Gulliver's Travels. PART IV - A VOYAGE TO THE COUNTRY OF THE HOUYHNHNMS.

CHAPTER III.

[The author studies to learn the language. The Houyhnhnm, his
master, assists in teaching him. The language described.
Several Houyhnhnms of quality come out of curiosity to see the author.
He gives his master a short account of his voyage.]

My principal endeavour was to learn the language, which my master (for
so I shall henceforth call him), and his children, and every servant
of his house, were desirous to teach me; for they looked upon it as
a prodigy, that a brute animal should discover such marks of a rational
creature. I pointed to every thing, and inquired the name of it,
which I wrote down in my journal-book when I was alone, and corrected
my bad accent by desiring those of the family to pronounce it often.
In this employment, a sorrel nag, one of the under-servants, was very
ready to assist me.

In speaking, they pronounced through the nose and throat, and their
language approaches nearest to the High-Dutch, or German, of any I know
in Europe; but is much more graceful and significant. The emperor
Charles V. made almost the same observation, when he said “that
if he were to speak to his horse, it should be in High-Dutch.”

The curiosity and impatience of my master were so great, that he spent
many hours of his leisure to instruct me. He was convinced (as
he afterwards told me) that I must be a Yahoo; but my teachableness,
civility, and cleanliness, astonished him; which were qualities altogether
opposite to those animals. He was most perplexed about my clothes,
reasoning sometimes with himself, whether they were a part of my body:
for I never pulled them off till the family were asleep, and got them
on before they waked in the morning. My master was eager to learn
“whence I came; how I acquired those appearances of reason, which
I discovered in all my actions; and to know my story from my own mouth,
which he hoped he should soon do by the great proficiency I made in
learning and pronouncing their words and sentences.” To
help my memory, I formed all I learned into the English alphabet, and
writ the words down, with the translations. This last, after some
time, I ventured to do in my master's presence. It cost
me much trouble to explain to him what I was doing; for the inhabitants
have not the least idea of books or literature.

In about ten weeks time, I was able to understand most of his questions;
and in three months, could give him some tolerable answers. He
was extremely curious to know “from what part of the country I
came, and how I was taught to imitate a rational creature; because the
Yahoos (whom he saw I exactly resembled in my head, hands, and
face, that were only visible), with some appearance of cunning, and
the strongest disposition to mischief, were observed to be the most
unteachable of all brutes.” I answered, “that I came
over the sea, from a far place, with many others of my own kind, in
a great hollow vessel made of the bodies of trees: that my companions
forced me to land on this coast, and then left me to shift for myself.”
It was with some difficulty, and by the help of many signs, that I brought
him to understand me. He replied, “that I must needs be
mistaken, or that I said the thing which was not;” for they have
no word in their language to express lying or falsehood. “He
knew it was impossible that there could be a country beyond the sea,
or that a parcel of brutes could move a wooden vessel whither they pleased
upon water. He was sure no Houyhnhnm alive could make such
a vessel, nor would trust Yahoos to manage it.”

The word Houyhnhnm, in their tongue, signifies a horse,
and, in its etymology, the perfection of nature. I told
my master, “that I was at a loss for expression, but would improve
as fast as I could; and hoped, in a short time, I should be able to
tell him wonders.” He was pleased to direct his own mare,
his colt, and foal, and the servants of the family, to take all opportunities
of instructing me; and every day, for two or three hours, he was at
the same pains himself. Several horses and mares of quality in
the neighbourhood came often to our house, upon the report spread of
“a wonderful Yahoo, that could speak like a Houyhnhnm,
and seemed, in his words and actions, to discover some glimmerings of
reason.” These delighted to converse with me: they put many
questions, and received such answers as I was able to return.
By all these advantages I made so great a progress, that, in five months
from my arrival I understood whatever was spoken, and could express
myself tolerably well.

The Houyhnhnms, who came to visit my master out of a design of
seeing and talking with me, could hardly believe me to be a right Yahoo,
because my body had a different covering from others of my kind.
They were astonished to observe me without the usual hair or skin, except
on my head, face, and hands; but I discovered that secret to my master
upon an accident which happened about a fortnight before.

I have already told the reader, that every night, when the family were
gone to bed, it was my custom to strip, and cover myself with my clothes.
It happened, one morning early, that my master sent for me by the sorrel
nag, who was his valet. When he came I was fast asleep, my clothes
fallen off on one side, and my shirt above my waist. I awaked
at the noise he made, and observed him to deliver his message in some
disorder; after which he went to my master, and in a great fright gave
him a very confused account of what he had seen. This I presently
discovered, for, going as soon as I was dressed to pay my attendance
upon his honour, he asked me “the meaning of what his servant
had reported, that I was not the same thing when I slept, as I appeared
to be at other times; that his valet assured him, some part of me was
white, some yellow, at least not so white, and some brown.”

I had hitherto concealed the secret of my dress, in order to distinguish
myself, as much as possible, from that cursed race of Yahoos; but
now I found it in vain to do so any longer. Besides, I considered
that my clothes and shoes would soon wear out, which already were in
a declining condition, and must be supplied by some contrivance from
the hides of Yahoos, or other brutes; whereby the whole secret
would be known. I therefore told my master, “that in the
country whence I came, those of my kind always covered their bodies
with the hairs of certain animals prepared by art, as well for decency
as to avoid the inclemencies of air, both hot and cold; of which, as
to my own person, I would give him immediate conviction, if he pleased
to command me: only desiring his excuse, if I did not expose those parts
that nature taught us to conceal.” He said, “my discourse
was all very strange, but especially the last part; for he could not
understand, why nature should teach us to conceal what nature had given;
that neither himself nor family were ashamed of any parts of their bodies;
but, however, I might do as I pleased.” Whereupon I first
unbuttoned my coat, and pulled it off. I did the same with my
waistcoat. I drew off my shoes, stockings, and breeches.
I let my shirt down to my waist, and drew up the bottom; fastening it
like a girdle about my middle, to hide my nakedness.

My master observed the whole performance with great signs of curiosity
and admiration. He took up all my clothes in his pastern, one
piece after another, and examined them diligently; he then stroked my
body very gently, and looked round me several times; after which, he
said, it was plain I must be a perfect Yahoo; but that I differed
very much from the rest of my species in the softness, whiteness, and
smoothness of my skin; my want of hair in several parts of my body;
the shape and shortness of my claws behind and before; and my affectation
of walking continually on my two hinder feet. He desired to see
no more; and gave me leave to put on my clothes again, for I was shuddering
with cold.

I expressed my uneasiness at his giving me so often the appellation
of Yahoo, an odious animal, for which I had so utter a hatred
and contempt: I begged he would forbear applying that word to me, and
make the same order in his family and among his friends whom he suffered
to see me. I requested likewise, “that the secret of my
having a false covering to my body, might be known to none but himself,
at least as long as my present clothing should last; for as to what
the sorrel nag, his valet, had observed, his honour might command him
to conceal it.”

All this my master very graciously consented to; and thus the secret
was kept till my clothes began to wear out, which I was forced to supply
by several contrivances that shall hereafter be mentioned. In
the meantime, he desired “I would go on with my utmost diligence
to learn their language, because he was more astonished at my capacity
for speech and reason, than at the figure of my body, whether it were
covered or not;” adding, “that he waited with some impatience
to hear the wonders which I promised to tell him.”

Thenceforward he doubled the pains he had been at to instruct me: he
brought me into all company, and made them treat me with civility; “because,”
as he told them, privately, “this would put me into good humour,
and make me more diverting.”

Every day, when I waited on him, beside the trouble he was at in teaching,
he would ask me several questions concerning myself, which I answered
as well as I could, and by these means he had already received some
general ideas, though very imperfect. It would be tedious to relate
the several steps by which I advanced to a more regular conversation;
but the first account I gave of myself in any order and length was to
this purpose:

“That I came from a very far country, as I already had attempted
to tell him, with about fifty more of my own species; that we travelled
upon the seas in a great hollow vessel made of wood, and larger than
his honour's house. I described the ship to him in the best
terms I could, and explained, by the help of my handkerchief displayed,
how it was driven forward by the wind. That upon a quarrel among
us, I was set on shore on this coast, where I walked forward, without
knowing whither, till he delivered me from the persecution of those
execrableYahoos.” He asked me, “who made the
ship, and how it was possible that the Houyhnhnms of my country
would leave it to the management of brutes?” My answer was,
“that I durst proceed no further in my relation, unless he would
give me his word and honour that he would not be offended, and then
I would tell him the wonders I had so often promised.” He
agreed; and I went on by assuring him, that the ship was made by creatures
like myself; who, in all the countries I had travelled, as well as in
my own, were the only governing rational animals; and that upon my arrival
hither, I was as much astonished to see the Houyhnhnms act like
rational beings, as he, or his friends, could be, in finding some marks
of reason in a creature he was pleased to call a Yahoo; to which
I owned my resemblance in every part, but could not account for their
degenerate and brutal nature. I said farther, “that if good
fortune ever restored me to my native country, to relate my travels
hither, as I resolved to do, everybody would believe, that I said the
thing that was not, that I invented the story out of my own head; and
(with all possible respect to himself, his family, and friends, and
under his promise of not being offended) our countrymen would hardly
think it probable that a Houyhnhnm should be the presiding creature
of a nation, and a Yahoo the brute.”